Abstract: The research question this dissertation attempts to answer is whether air freight
is significantly associated with population growth; or the income and employment of
people in cities; or green geographic spaces. I hypothesize that air cargo throughput is
positively associated with these four variables. After appraising the literature on cities,
world cities, and world-city networks, as well as establishing the link between airports
and cities, I utilize two methods to test my hypotheses. First, I compare two cities –
Detroit and Doha – which initially experienced economic and demographic growth
before going on opposite developmental trajectories, using the most different systems
design [MDSD]. Second, I employ multiple linear regression to test my hypothesis.
The results indicate that 1) air freight has a positive association with green area in
cities without seaports; 2) air freight is significantly associated with urban
employment in cities with seaports; and 3) air freight results in population growth in
cities with seaports. ☐ Keywords: Cities, International Relations, capitalist world-economy, uneven
development, global commodity chains, air freight, airports, airport cities